GCSE Design and Technology

Transcription

1 GCSE Design and Technology Your companion guide to our new specification First teaching September 2017 First assessments summer 2019 Find out more at: aqa.org.uk/dandt

2 Introducing our new GCSE Design and Technology We ve created this guide to help you understand how the new GCSE changes from Ofqual and the Department for Education will affect you and your students. These changes will apply to all exam boards offering GCSE Design and Technology from September All GCSEs will be linear Students will sit all exams at the end of the two year course. GCSEs will be graded 9 1 All new GCSEs will be graded 9 1, rather than A* G. Grade 9 will be the highest and equivalent of an A** (which doesn t exist at the moment). GCSE Design and Technology key dates Download our draft specification at aqa.org.uk/dandt 19 May 2016 Attend one of our free launch events Autumn 2016 Download our accredited specification from aqa.org.uk/dandt Autumn 2016 Start teaching September 2017 First exams Summer 2019 For more information about GCSE changes, visit aqa.org.uk/gcse-changes 2

3 A specification for you and your students GCSE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY Creating a new GCSE Design and Technology qualification that meets the needs of you and your students is extremely important to us. That s why we ve worked with teachers and subject experts to design a new specification that you ll enjoy teaching as much as your students will enjoy learning. 1. We re confident you ll find the new specification engaging, interesting and practical to teach. 2. We ll provide teaching resources to help you plan your lessons, teach and assess your students. 3. We re also hosting numerous showcase events and free prepare to teach events, to ensure you re fully prepared to teach the new specification in September We re here if you need us Want to speak to someone in the GCSE design and technology team? T: E: dandt@aqa.org.uk Explore our draft specifications: aqa.org.uk/dandt Find out more about the new GCSE grades: aqa.org.uk/new-gcse-grades 3

4 Specification at a glance The qualification is linear, meaning students sit all their exams at the end of the course. Paper 1 What s assessed Core technical principles Specialist technical principles Designing and making principles How it s assessed Written exam: 2 hours 100 marks 50 % of GCSE Questions Section A: Core technical principles (20 marks) Multiple choice and short answer questions assess broad technical knowledge and understanding. Section B: Specialist technical principles (30 marks) Several short answer questions (2 5 marks) and one extended response to assess a more in depth knowledge of technical principles. Section C: Designing and making principles (50 marks) Short and extended response questions, includes a 12 mark design question. Find out more You can see full details of the new specification at: aqa.org.uk/dandt 4

5 GCSE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY + Non-exam assessment What s assessed Practical application of: Core technical principles Specialist technical principles Designing and making principles How it s assessed Non-exam assessment (NEA) approximately hours 100 marks 50 % of GCSE What should students produce Substantial design and make task. Assessment criteria to include the following: investigating designing making analysing and evaluating. In the spirit of the iterative design process, the above should be awarded throughout each stage of the design process. Task(s) Contextual challenges to be released annually by AQA on 1 June, in the year before submission. Students will produce a working prototype and a portfolio of evidence (maximum 20 pages) to demonstrate the assessment criteria above. Work will be marked by teachers and moderated by AQA. 5

6 Reasons you ll enjoy teaching this new AQA specification Imaginative practical work is at its heart. Students explore, design, create and evaluate prototypes to solve real world problems. Students gain a broad understanding of technical, designing and making principles. No restrictions on materials when making prototypes. Opportunity to explore a particular material area in greater depth. Students can also take a product design type approach and use multiple materials. We ve highlighted good areas to integrate relevant maths and science skills. How the new assessment will work 50% exam (maths and science knowledge contributes 15%). 50% non-exam assessment (NEA), one practical activity (students develop a brief in response to a contextual challenge set by AQA, released on 1 June in the year before submission). Question paper split into three sections, which mirror the three content areas of the specification. 6

7 Clear assessment and marking you can trust GCSE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY We know the time and effort that you and your students put in to exams. We also understand how essential it is that the marks we give are fair, reliable and trustworthy. Getting the right results Our Centre for Education Research and Practice (CERP) provides statistics and research evidence to ensure we assess and mark your students work fairly and accurately. We also recruit and train the highest calibre examiners and continually monitor their work. Clear question papers Students of all abilities will understand our clearly worded exam papers. Well structured mark schemes and exemplar materials Our mark schemes demonstrate how to help your top ability students get the best marks. Our exemplars use real student answers with comments from senior examiners to explain how our mark schemes are applied. More exam help and advice available 1. Watch our videos on assessment explained or see how we create a specification at aqa.org.uk/exams 2. Analyse student results with our free Enhanced Results Analysis tool aqa.org.uk/era 3. More exam-related help is available at aqa.org.uk/results Assessment support Our exam resources will help you prepare for exams: these include practice questions, tests and revision exercises. If you d like to speak to us about the new exams, call us on

8 Free resources help you bring the new specification to life We ve worked closely with fantastic teachers to create resources you ll find useful and inspiring. Each resource will help you with a specific aspect of teaching either planning your lessons, teaching them, or preparing your students for exams. Free resources include: events to introduce you to the new specification and advice on how you can teach it schemes of work and lesson plans specimen question papers mark schemes student exemplar materials training and professional development opportunities digital resources. Want to improve your teaching skills? We can support you throughout your teaching career with practical training, tried, tested and taught by teachers. Browse and book our professional development events at aqa.org.uk/ professional-development Join the 8

9 GCSE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY Level 1/2 Technical Awards To complement our new GCSE we are also developing a suite of Level 1/2 Technical Awards in this area, for first teaching in September Our new Technical Awards give year olds a more handson, practical approach to learning. With a greater focus on specialist skills, students can concentrate on the area they re really interested in. Students will also get the chance to gain valuable transferrable skills in research, teamworking, communication and collaboration. We have kept the best elements from our outgoing GCSEs and worked with teachers, employers and industry to make sure our new Technical Awards deliver the practical skills and core knowledge students need to progress onto Level 3 qualifications, employment or apprenticeships. Each new Technical Award is equivalent to a single GCSE and counts towards performance tables. They can be included in Progress 8 as part of the non-ebacc open group. These exciting new qualifications will be made up of three units; a written exam worth 40 % and two internally assessed units worth 30 % each. The first unit is a demonstration of technical skills and the second will be a making project, allowing students to showcase the skills they have developed. To receive regular updates register with us at: aqa.org.uk/technicalawardsdandt 9

10 Four new Technical Awards Food and catering Students develop a wide range of practical food preparation skills for commercial and home environments. They will be expected to make a variety of high quality food products, applying technical and practical expertise to make sure their work practices are safe and hygienic. Fashion and textiles Students learn skills and techniques to make products, prototypes and samples using textiles materials. They will gain the practical expertise to create high quality products getting the opportunity to employ both traditional skills and modern technologies. To receive regular updates register with us at: aqa.org.uk/technicalawardsdandt 10

11 GCSE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY Materials technology Students learn how to make a range of high quality prototypes, samples and products using woods, metals and polymers applying technical and practical expertise to ensure that the product is fit for purpose. They will have the opportunity to use traditional skills and modern technologies. Visual communication Students learn techniques to create packaging and promotional products in a practical and imaginative way. The content has been significantly refreshed from the outgoing GCSEs to make the qualification more engaging for students and more relevant for employers and further study. 11

12 Meet the team Steve Healy Qualifications Manager Amanda Luby Customer Support Manager Gemma O Brien Qualifications Developer (Technical Awards) Ben Galvin Qualifications Developer (Technical Awards) Keep in touch Contact our design and technology team: T: E: dandt@aqa.org.uk To receive regular updates register with us at: aqa.org.uk/dandt Want to know about our new specification, launch meetings and resources? aqa.org.uk/andante The information in this guide is based on the draft specification submitted to Ofqual in May 2016 and is subject to change. We will publish the accredited specification and specimen question papers as soon as we receive Ofqual accreditation expected in autumn/winter Copyright 2016 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (registered charity number ) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number ). Registered address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. May 2016